Paul Harris talks about how he studied by distance learning before going to university

It was ten years later, in my late twenties, and after I discovered a love of history, that I finally decided I wanted to go to university. I thought about giving up my job and spending a year at college getting the exams I needed for university, but I couldn’t afford to do this. So I decided to study on a distance-learning course and keep my job. This was long before the internet and online learning. My course consisted of a parcel brought by the postman with all the books I needed for the year, a study plan and the contact details of my tutors. No telephone number, just an address of a business where I had to post my work.

I would spend a week or two studying the next unit, write an essay and post it to the tutor. I would then wait, usually for at least two weeks, for the tutor’s reply. It was always a very exciting moment when the postman arrived and I opened the envelope to see how well I had done. My tutor’s comments were always very helpful, though I often wished I could phone him for the chance to discuss some of the things he had written.